The UK shows why it is one of the most tolerant countries there is

Vaughan Gething has just been elected as First Minister of Wales. He is black (his mother is Zambian) and this makes him the first black leader of a country in Europe.

It also means that none of the four leaders of the UK are white men. And I (especially) have nothing against white men, but it is pretty remarkable that a country would have so many leaders not from the majority ethnic group. In most countries it would be unthinkable to have one, let alone so many. And this hasn’t happened because of quotas or a desire to have diversity for its own sake, but because they happened to be the ones who got elected. It speaks well of a country that people are judged not on their skin colour or religion.

So the UK currently has:

• A Prime Minister who is Indian and Hindu
• A Scottish First Minister who is Pakistani and Muslim
• A Welsh First Minister who is Zambian
• A Northern Ireland First Minister who is a Catholic woman
• A Home Secretary whose mother is from Sierra Leone
• A Secretary of State for Business who grew up in Nigeria
• A Secretary of State for Energy who is Indian
• A Mayor of London who is Pakistani and Muslim

It is ironic that so many young people are brought up to think the UK is a racist country, when in fact they show the benefits of not judging people on their race or religion.

The post The UK shows why it is one of the most tolerant countries there is first appeared on Kiwiblog.